By Angus Panton, Expleo Sales Director, Insurance, Banking and Financial Services

Today’s hyper-competitive banking landscape presents unique opportunities for incumbents to digitally re-wire operational processes in the name of customer-centricity. Now more than ever, the impetus is on institutions to pursue targeted digital transformation initiatives with a heightened sense of urgency, partly in response to the conveyor belt of agile fintechs challenging convention and gunning for greater market share. Surveying the landscape from their unique vantage points, there is growing recognition at board level that complacency on the digital transformation front represents a legitimate existential threat to banks. Given the high stakes, the parameters of banking innovation must be broadened considerably across the BFS landscape in 2023. Here’s what we can expect to see:

Customer-centricity atop the list of business priorities

With user expectations around customer service at an all time high, it’s critical that financial institutions think like a customer services company, placing customer-centricity and reliability at the core of business operations. As digital-native customers have come to expect 24/7 support and seamless app-based solutions, the importance of a frictionless, digital customer experience has never been more pronounced. Within the industry, there is heightened appreciation regarding the role of digital transformation in bolstering customer service delivery. Findings from Expleo’s Business Transformation Index (BTI) 2022 report found that 56% of Financial Services companies are seeking to improve how they deliver the best customer experience through digital transformation. This could extend to API-driven collaborations, or innovative deployments of Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence. The digital canvas is wide open.

Automation deployments will shift into next gear

In an increasingly acronym-heavy business environment, the three letters RPA (Robotic Process Automation) continue to hold a strong resonance, adding value to a range of key business strands, from customer service delivery, to accounting and finance, to HR. Traditionally, the deployment of chatbots has served as a mechanism to reduce call volumes and help address more rudimentary customer queries, but as chatbot capabilities widen, it’s essential that rigorous testing is conducted to uphold the highest security standards. Moreover, no stone should be left unturned to ensure that only the most relevant, pertinent information is communicated through the automated response functions. When quizzed on the main perceived benefits of Process Automation, 55% of Financial Services respondents highlighted the acceleration of the provision of digital services for customers – according to findings in Expleo’s BTI 2022 report. At a macro level, Process Automation refers to the technology-enabled automation of complex business processes, and can be leveraged to streamline multiple data sources, enable bots to add data to the work queue and facilitate swift query processing. In 2023, we can expect to see Process Automation become more intrinsically linked to an enhanced customer service experience.

As the technology skills gap continues to impact the BFS sector and undercut customer service delivery, automation-based solutions will likely be explored en-masse by players across the ecosystem. Expleo’s BTI 2022 report indicated that 70% of BFS respondents acknowledge internal skills gaps in managing emerging technology as a barrier to progress, while 29% referenced the use of Automation and AI as a solution to skills shortages. Amidst a raging talent war that is set to continue into 2023, innovative deployments of RPA can greatly reduce the level of tedious assignments associated with administrative work, encouraging staff to focus on more business-critical tasks and pursue internal upskilling opportunities.

Additionally, the enterprise case for data privacy automation will only get stronger in 2023, in line with the evolving contours of the global regulatory environment. This would allow BFS companies to respond decisively and rapidly to data breaches or security threats, while maintaining an air-tight audit trail. The far-reaching reputational and commercial implications of regulatory non-compliance should provide all the motivation banks need to take proactive measures to mitigate the risk of data incursions or self-inflicted setbacks. The benefits of data privacy automation can be seen in data mapping and DPIAs (Data Protection Impact Assessments) – which help banks pivot from the manual inputting of paper forms while enabling much more streamlined compliance recordkeeping. BFS companies that embrace data privacy automation in 2023 will also be able to expedite decision making and adapt to new requirements through agile working methods, directed by up to the minute data points.

With automation simplifying processes and advancing operations, businesses will be able to achieve an elevated state of agility, which in 2023, will represent an undisputed prerequisite for success.

Sharp focus on Business Agility in 2023

Business Agility is very much ‘ordre du Jour’, and has become firmly embedded in modern-day enterprise vernacular. For BFS providers, Business agility impacts how they do business on a day-to-day basis and how they support increasingly remote workforces. As businesses seek to become more nimble, reduce costs, and accelerate their overall pace of delivery, Business Agility is no longer a ‘nice to have’. A true state of Business Agility can only be achieved when the organisation’s mission is firmly established, which means developing a fundamental understanding of where you are as a business, where you want to go, and developing a robust plan to get there. Crucially, Business Agility can never be ‘one size fits all’, as it is very personal to a business. It gives expression to how adept organisations are in terms of strategically channeling resources to reach a desired destination. In 2023, the agility path can very much be tech-led, with 40% of BFS respondents planning to leverage digital transformation as a means of becoming more agile – according to Expleo’s BTI report 2022.

In 2023, targeted digital transformation initiatives geared towards driving internal efficiencies and enhancing customer service capabilities can help BFS companies stay competitive in today’s highly mobilised economic environment, and embrace a culture of Business Agility.